Saints coach Sean Payton still critical of several calls

METAIRIE, La. -- New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton did not want to use the officiating as an excuse for his team's loss to the unbeaten Carolina Panthers on Sunday, but it was too hard to ignore immediately after the game and on Monday morning after he slept on it.

That's assuming he slept after the Saints' 41-38 loss to the Panthers in a wild game that saw the Saints take the lead twice in the final quarter only to let it slip away -- the last time with 65 seconds left.

On Sunday night, Payton was angry with referee Brad Allen's crew that twice failed to catch the Panthers with 12 players in the offensive huddle -- both times in critical situations.

It didn't get any better when he watched a TV copy of the game and said he saw it happen three times during the contest.

"I'm not going to get into the officiating ... I said walking into this door I was not going to get into it," Payton said after the game. "And it happened twice, 12 men on the field, clearly, and they (high school officials) are getting that right on Friday nights."

Time did little to cool Payton down by the time he met reporters Monday.

"Penalties are one thing, and we had our fair share offensively as well," he admitted. "Then, there are a few of them I could go on about with regards to questioning. You can't allow that to be, penalties I'm saying, you can't allow that to be a deciding factor (in the game's outcome)."

On one occasion, with the Panthers facing a second-and-goal situation at the Saints' 1-yard line in the third quarter, Carolina appeared to have 12 players at the line of scrimmage as Cam Newton called out signals. When Payton tried to challenge, Allen went under the hood and said there weren't 12 men in the formation.

Fox Sports announcers Joe Buck and Troy Aikman pointed out the Panthers had 12 men in the huddle also in the first quarter, just before Newton ran 30 yards for a first down on fourth-and-1, and again in the fourth period during Carolina's drive to the game-winning touchdown.

"It's three different times, it's 12 guys when they break the huddle," Payton said after talking with director of officiating Dean Blandino. "That's just one part of it.

"One of the things I try to do here, and we've talked about it, we don't come in on Mondays and have angst half the day about (officials') calls. Today was one of those mornings where someone sent me the TV copy. You've got to be able to get that (make the call)."

While Payton didn't think the plays cost his team the game, it made it more difficult for a Saints defense that has struggled throughout the season and again on Sunday while allowing 497 total yards and five touchdown passes by Newton.

"There are a lot of challenges (it) causes when you're trying to play defense and you're trying to play coverage," he said. "I said what I said (Sunday) and I meant it. Those are easy, easy things to see, and it's frustrating.

"But again, we don't make excuses. That's not why. I'm just angry because those were critical situations."

REPORT CARD VS. PANTHERS

--PASSING OFFENSE: C plus. After struggling mightily one week earlier, the Saints didn't have the greatest of days against the Panthers, either. Drew Brees was 24-of-42 for 282 yards and three touchdowns, including a perfectly thrown 54-yarder to Brandin Cooks. But Brees was intercepted once and sacked twice and finished with a 91.6 passer rating. Cooks had six receptions for 104 yards and the touchdown, while Brandon Coleman, who filled in for an injured Willie Snead, had his best day as a pro with four catches for 73 yards (with a long of 31) and a 24-yard TD early in the fourth quarter that gave the Saints a 31-27 lead. Tight end Benjamin Watson had a 14-yard TD among his four receptions for 38 yards.

--RUSHING OFFENSE: B. It wasn't great, but it wasn't terrible against a stingy and active Panthers' front seven. Mark Ingram managed to scratch out a team-leading 56 yards and a 4.7 average on 12 attempts with a 9-yard TD in the fourth quarter that gave his team a 38-34 edge with a little more than five minutes remaining. Brees added a 12-yard scramble on his only rushing attempt of the game, but the Saints ran the ball only three times in the second half when the game was still very much in doubt.

--PASS DEFENSE: D. On paper, it looks like the Saints deserve an F after Panthers quarterback Cam Newton completed 28 of 41 passes for 331 yards and TDs of 12, 13, 13, 45 and 15 yards. But he was intercepted by cornerback Delvin Breaux, who later left the game with a hamstring injury -- leaving the Saints woefully thin at the position. The Saints were already playing without Keenan Lewis and Damian Swann, their nickel corner who was sidelined again by a concussion. Panthers tight end Greg Olsen had his second 100-yard game of the season against the Saints, catching nine balls for 129 yards with a long of 32, and Ted Ginn Jr. had five receptions and two TDs for 80 yards. The Saints' secondary also was flagged six times -- three for holding on unsuccessful third-down attempts by the Panthers that allowed drives to continue.

--RUN DEFENSE: D plus. The Panthers gashed the Saints for three rushing plays of at least 22 yards on the way to gaining 175 yards and a 5.1 average per attempt on 34 carries. The Saints did a decent job on Jonathan Stewart, giving up just 82 yards and 3.9 yards per attempt on 21 carries. He did have a 22-yard run, but got only 60 yards on his other 20 tries. Newton added 49 yards on 10 carries, but a 30-yard dash helped his average rise from 2.1 yards per attempt. Mike Tolbert added 33 yards on two carries with a long of 29. The three long runs by the Panthers totaled 81 yards, which means they got just 94 yards on their other 31 attempts.

--SPECIAL TEAMS: B. Defensive tackle Kevin Williams blocked a Panthers extra-point attempt, which linebacker Stephone Anthony returned for a two-point conversion, but that was offset when Kai Forbath pushed a 38-yard field-goal attempt to the right. Thomas Morstead averaged 40.8 net and gross yards on five punts with a long of 49 while dropping two kicks inside the 20. The Saints had one kickoff return for 26 yards and averaged 3.5 yards on two punt returns, while their kick coverage was adequate in holding the Panthers to no punt returns and only 23.5 yards on two kickoffs.

--COACHING: B. Sean Payton had his team ready to play after a lackluster 24-6 loss to the Houston Texans and narrowly pulled off the upset against the undefeated Panthers. The Saints showed a lot of fight and gave the Panthers all they wanted until the final play. Payton's team led 14-0 in the first quarter, 16-13 at halftime and took the lead twice in the final quarter before Carolina rallied -- which showed that the Saints weren't just showing up.